Last night I got home from Chicago, where I had fun attending Eat Write Retreat, hanging out with my friend Stephanie, eating at some favorite spots like Greek Islands and Frontera Grill, and meeting some food bloggers that I'd known online but hadn't met in person. While I was gone Salt Lake has been having a heat wave, with temperatures hovering around 100F for a few days now, so cold dishes like this Lentil Salad with Green Olives, Red Bell Pepper, Green Onion, and Herbs are sounding good!

My love for brownlentils is well documented on the blog, and this lentil salad recipe started with an idea that popped into my head to combine brown lentils and green olives, a combination I loved. Then I was inspired to add a generous amount of chopped red bell pepper plus Greek oregano and fresh Italian parsley from my garden, fresh ingredients that I really thought added an interesting twist to the salad.

Lentils are something I consider a "good carb," but if you want to make the salad lower in carbs, I'd suggest using more red pepper and green onion and reducing the amount of lentils, for a lower-carb meatless salad that will be just as delicious. I'm updating this Lentil Salad with Green Olives, Red Bell Pepper, Green Onion, and Herbs recipe for my Meatless Monday pick for this week, and I think this vegan and gluten-free salad would make a great salad option for a Fourth of July barbecue or picnic; hope you enjoy.

(Lentil Salad with Green Olives, Red Bell Pepper, Green Onion, and Herbs was first posted in 2009 for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Palachinka, a charming blog about Serbian food. It was updated with new photos and better directions June 2015.)

Drain the lentils well while you slice the green onions and chop the green olives red pepper, and herbs. I used a jar of green olives with pimento, and after I drained them I used the bowl attachment of my immersion blender to get coarsely chopped olives and pimento pieces.

As soon as the lentils are drained well, combine one tablespoon each of lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil and marinate the warm lentils in this mixture. Whisk together the rest of the lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, sweet paprika, and Spike Seasoning; then whisk in olive oil to make the dressing for the salad. Combine the lentils, chopped red pepper, green onion, and green olives with the desired amount of dressing, and gently stir in the chopped herbs.

Season salad with salt and fresh ground black pepper and serve salad cold or room temperature. This will keep in the fridge for a day or two, although I like it best when the fresh ingredients are still crunchy.

And just to show why I am updating the photos, here's the original photo of this salad from 2009, which I thought never did really show how good it was!

Put lentils in pan with 3 cups water, bring to very low simmer, and let cook until lentils are soft. (This will be about 30 minutes, but cooking times can vary quite a bit depending on how fresh the lentils are, so just keep tasting until they're soft.)

Dump lentils into a colander and let drain about 15 minutes, then toss with 1 t each of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar. Let lentils marinate in this mixture while you prepare other ingredients. (If you have plenty of time, marinate the lentils 20-30 minutes, but even a few minutes of marinating will add to the flavor.

Chop red bell pepper and green onions and place in medium-sized plastic or glass bowl. Coarsely chop olives and add to bowl. (I used the bowl attachment of my immersion blender to chop the olives, which worked well.) Finely chop the Greek Oregano and Italian parsley.

Mix together remaining 1 T lemon juice, 1 T balsamic vinegar, Spike Seasoning, and sweet paprika, then whisk in 3 T olive oil. Add marinated lentils to ingredients in the bowl and gently combine with dressing. (You may not need all the dressing, depending on how wet you prefer your salads.)

Gently stir the chopped herbs into the salad. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper.

This will keep in the refrigerator for a few days, although I like it best when the fresh ingredients still have a little crunch.

Lentils are considered a "good carb" for the South Beach Diet, and you could eat a small serving of this salad for any phase of the diet. To make this a lower-carb salad, decrease the amount of lentils and use more chopped red pepper and sliced green onion.

I chose the South Beach Diet to manage my weight partly so I wouldn't have to count calories, carbs, points, or fat grams, but if you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you. Or if you're a member of Yummly, you can use the Yum button on my site to save the recipe and see the nutritional information there.

More Recipes with Lentils:
(Recipes from other blogs may not always be South Beach Diet friendly; check ingredients.)

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Lentils and olives? I'd never have thought of it. But now I'm more disappointed than ever that my Greek oregano didn't winter over in my herb garden. I'm planning to put in a new plant or two this year, and will bookmark this recipe to try.

I love lentils, they are definitely one of my favorite legumes and were the first ones I ever cooked myself. I have some green olives sitting in the fridge waiting to be used up so I think I shall have to make this, perhaps with some pitas for lunch.

I also have a Greek oragano plant in my yard (I'm also in SLC, oragano loves Utah, perhaps?) and am looking forward to trying your fab salad with it. Cafe Mediterranean may be gone, but you can get Mujaddara and other yummy Middle Eastern dishes at the two Mazzas restaurants in Salt Lake. Thinking of their food makes me swoon, it is so good!

Kalyn, as someone new to South Beach, I want to express my gratitude for your marvelous blog. The info, recipes, and pictures you provide have really helped me love this new way of life. I have already lost 10 pounds and look forward to eating all this wonderful food as I shed the rest of my weight. Congratulations on your continued success. I look forward to reading your blog regularly.

I made this salad yesterday to have for lunches. It is very very good! I haven't been a fan of green olives before, but this is a terrific combination. I overcooked the lentils a bit since mine are quite fresh, and it is still delish! It really soaks up the tasty dressing. My alterations were adding 1 roasted red pepper and using some salt and dried herbs since I don't have Spike seasoning at hand. Great way to use lots of fresh Greek oregano. Thanks again for the recipe!

I'd be surprised if you can't get Spike in Canada; I know you can order it from Amazon.com. But it's an all-purpose seasoning blend with lots of ingredients. I don't think there's anything else that's quite like it, but any all-purpose blend you like can be used instead.

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